Lahat ng Kabanata ng The Mafia's Substitute Bride: Kabanata 171 - Kabanata 180

Valentina hadn’t planned to come back. Not after the way the last visit ended — or didn’t, because Cam never even came out of the room. She just stayed behind that wall, and she seemed out of reach, like she'd drawn an invisible line between them and dared her to cross it. But all night, that silence stayed in her head.So here she was again, standing on the same damn doorstep, staring at the door like it might open itself and let her off the hook. She didn’t have a speech in mind, didn’t bring flowers or food, didn’t even bother putting on earrings or brushing her hair down properly. She just needed to be here — even if it went nowhere.She rang the bell and waited. Nothing came. She rang again, even though she hated how desperate it felt. Still nothing. The glass panel reflected her face, tired and puffy-eyed, and for a second she considered leaving — but the door buzzed and clicked open, no voice attached to it, no greeting.Cam didn’t even look surprised when she opened the door.

SAME DAY- EVENINGVal didn’t even realize how long she’d been staring at her phone. The screen lit up in her hand, and she was still sitting by the window, one leg curled beneath her, the other stretched out. Outside, the sun had dipped low, casting long shadows across the floor — she hadn’t moved since she got back from the shoot. Her muscles ached a lot, she wondered if the work was really worth all the stress. She needed a massage.Messages from the post has been popping up all day and now it was really getting into her head, she couldn't stop herself from looking and reading.Another new post wasn’t even from one of the big blogs. Just a random user with a following barely past four digits, but the words were harsh and catching fire fast. It opened with a screenshot of a campaign photo of her face front and center and the caption read “Is this really the image we want for young girls? Nepotism, scandal, and murderers.”The comment section had spiraled within minutes.She scrolled,

NEXT DAYAlecia stood outside the small corner cafe, watching as the sun reflected off the dusty windows. It was mid-morning, and the street was mostly quiet except for the occasional couple strolling past or the hum of a delivery truck pulling away. The photograph she'd printed was folded once in her hand, fingers curling around the crease like it might disappear if she let go.She hadn’t seen Roberto since the day of his release, and she didn't know if she should feel sad or happy about it.She hadn't asked Bianca either—partly because Bianca was still out of the country, but mostly because asking would mean showing her hand. And Alecia had no interest in looking pressed. So she did what she always did: she traced things back.The photo showed him sitting outside this same cafe, coffee in front of him, Bianca leaning across the table with that expression she wore only when she wanted something. Alecia had stared at it for too long the night she found it on the flash drive along with

The foundation resumed at full speed that morning, just as expected. After the brief pause yesterday to let things cool down, everyone was back in motion again—meetings, calendar updates, and a campaign schedule that didn’t leave much room to breathe. Ten days of on-ground activity across different cities was a lot even on a normal week. But with the online post still echoing in comment sections and people whispering behind corners, things didn’t quite feel normal.Valentina had planned to sleep a little longer after yesterday's unexpected detour with Lucas, but the soft movement in the hallway pulled her out of sleep. She heard a coat sleeve rustle, keys slipping into a pocket, and a quiet breath as someone passed her room.When she finally got up, the sun had only barely pushed its way through the curtains. She took her time getting dressed, unsure if she wanted to acknowledge how the quiet hum of domestic life had felt oddly comforting. In the kitchen, Lucas only looked up from his

The early morning felt quieter than usual, even for them and the event they came for. It seemed as if they packed into their suitcases and carried along with the folded clothes and shoes, like it was tucked between carry-ons and lukewarm cups of airport coffee.Their flight left just after seven. Neither of them said much on the drive to the airport. Lucas had taken a call the entire way, angry responses to someone she couldn’t hear on the other end, it was as if he woke up on the wrong side of the bed because he's been grumpy since the first cock crow.Olive drove without saying anything either, and Valentina just sat in the backseat, Rue curled up quietly beside her in the travel bag with one paw sticking out, twitching every now and then. She couldn't bear to leave her alone in a house so big like that.She hadn’t even asked if they were stopping for breakfast. It didn’t matter. She wasn’t in the mood to think about it, but immediately their car screeched into a stop in the hanger